Bishop’s Run, LLC, Owner
New Baltimore Fire and Rescue Co., Applicant

Staff Lead:

Department:

Topic:

A
Resolution to Approve SPEX07-SC-009: Category 11 Special
Exception to Build the New Baltimore Fire and Rescue
Station

Topic
Description:

The applicant seeks approval under Category 11 to build
a combined fire and rescue station in the New Baltimore
Service District. The site was proffered in accord with
the approved Bishop’s Run Rezoning RZ03-S-17.

Project Information:

In December 2005, the Fauquier County Board of
Supervisors adopted the Long Range Fire Rescue Service
Plan, which called for the relocation of the New
Baltimore Station to Riley Road near Route 29 on
proffered land from the Bishop’s Run project as a
priority need. The site contains three (3) acres and
will receive utilities from the Bishop’s Run
Development.

The new
Fire Station will be a single story structure with the
apparatus bays on one side and the residential/office
areas on the other. The proposed new Station will house
the New Baltimore Fire and Rescue Department’s (Company
10) response personnel, equipment, and vehicles. This
new facility will house both firefighting and emergency
services equipment and crews. The station and site will
be used only for operational purposes. There will no
bingo, social hall, or aerial siren.

The New
Baltimore Fire and Rescue Station will be a 24-hour
facility. There are two (2) full-time employees of the
Department that work Monday through Friday from 6:00
A.M. to 6:00 P.M. The majority of the personnel using
the station will be volunteers. Chief George Keefer has
estimated that the highest number of personnel
(volunteers and paid staff) on a very busy night at the
station is about twenty (20). This number might occur
during a storm event or other natural or man-made
disaster. Since the Department operates on a volunteer
basis, the exact number of personnel at the station at
any one time is not always known. Generally, on an
average day there are three to four people waiting at
the facility for calls. This number increases with
weather conditions or events that might cause an
increase in activity. The applicant states that the new
station will allow for the fire and rescue squads to
meet new demands and greatly improve the safety of New
Baltimore and the surrounding area.

On January 25, 2007, the Planning Commission unanimously
recommended approval to the Board of Supervisors,
subject to the Conditions of Development.

Land, Area, Location & Zoning:

The property is located south of Lee Highway (Route
29/211), west of Riley Road (Route 676) across from C.
Hunter Ritchie School on the Bishop’s Run site. A map
of the property is shown below with the site
cross-hatched.

Neighboring Zoning/Land Use:

The property is zoned Commercial-1 (C-1). It is
surrounded by a mixture of Residential (R-1 and R-4) and
Commercial (C-1) property.

Staff Analysis:

Staff
and appropriate referral agencies have reviewed this
request for conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, the
Zoning Ordinance, and other relevant policies and
regulations. Staff and referral agency findings,
comments, and recommendations are summarized below.

Zoning
Considerations:

The Zoning Office has provided the following comments:

1. The following standards are required to be considered in
evaluating the Special Exception application:

A. 5-006, General Standards.

B. 5-1102 Standards for All Category 11 Uses.

C. 5-1105 Additional Standards for Libraries and
Public Safety Facilities

2. Site plan approval is required for the proposed project.

3.The concept plan appears generally consistent
with Zoning Ordinance regulations, but please note that
the proposed plan may require adjustments during site
plan process to meet the Zoning Ordinance requirements:

·Buffers and Landscaping. Minimum
buffering and landscaping requirements are established
by Section 7-600 of the Zoning Ordinance. It does not
appear that the landscaping requirements are met on the
concept plan but rather shared by the adjoining Bishop’s
Run property to the north. These requirements will be
evaluated at site plan and will require a
Landscape/Buffer Yard Modification to be approved. The
approval of this plan does not constitute approval of
the buffer yard width.

Engineering Considerations:

The Engineering Office has provided the following
comments:

1.An oil/grit separator is to be provided as an
inline treatment before runoff from the refueling area
enters any type of BMP/SWM facility.

2.Stormwater management BMP’s will be required for
this facility.

Soils/Environmental:

The Soils
Office has provided the following comments:

While
approximately 30 percent of the site is mapped soils are
rated poor for general development using central sewer
and water, the site is close to the head of the
drainageway where probability of flooding and
concentrated runoff is greatly reduced. The remainder
of the site is rated fair to good for general
development using central water and sewer.

Transportation – VDOT Concerns:

VDOT has provided the following comments:

Provide sight distance profile for both entrances
using a 50 mph design speed.

Curb and gutter on Route 676 must be CG-7 due to the
50 mph design speed.

Show the location of the entrance to the Bishop’s
Run commercial site. It appears that due to the
proximity of the two entrances, curb and gutter will
need to be tied together.

Line up the entrance with the school entrance; label
the school entrance.

Include vehicle trips per day. There appear to be a
lot of parking spaces proposed for the small number
of employees that are indicated will use the
facility.

A
fueling station has been shown for the facility, but
it is not clear if this is just for the fire station
use. The vehicles trips per day needs to include
any trips associated with this use.

Fire
and Emergency Services:

The current station’s location at Route 29 creates a
traffic hazard when emergency apparatus are responding
from the station. This interrupts traffic flow to the
point that many minor traffic accidents have occurred.

The new location is most attractive for many reasons.
First, the site acquisition is through a proffer to
include site grading and utilities such as sewer and
water. Next is the proximity. The location at Riley Rd/
Bishop’s Run provides for many safe ingress and egress
routes for our emergency units responding. It is quick
to Route 29 at a more visible and wider crossover, the
access to Vint Hill is closer as are other routes and
developments such as Brookside. Several other sites have
been evaluated since 1999 to include renovation of the
existing site. The Bishop’s Run site is by far the best
site.

Summary and Recommendation:

Staff
and the Planning Commission recommend approval, subject
to the conditions that address the outstanding
information requested by VDOT.

Identify any other Departments, Organizations or
Individuals that would be affected by this request: